High Detection Rates of High-Grade DCIS Persist

Last Updated: February 07, 2018.
High detection rates of high-grade ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) persist in consecutive subsequent screening rounds versus the prevalence round, while there are decreases in detection rates of low- and intermediate-grade DCIS, according to a study published in the February issue of Radiology.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 7, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- High detection rates of high-grade ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) persist in consecutive subsequent screening rounds versus the prevalence round, while there are decreases in detection rates of low- and intermediate-grade DCIS, according to a study published in the February issue of Radiology.

Stefanie Weigel, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Muenster in Germany, and colleagues compared grade-specific detection rates between the prevalence round (baseline screening) and two subsequent screening rounds of a population-based digital mammography screening program. There was a 22- to 30-month interval between all screening rounds.

The researchers found that cancer detection rates were lowest for low-grade DCIS over all screening rounds (range 0.11 to 0.25 per 1,000 women screened) and were highest for high-grade DCIS (range, 0.53 to 0.59 per 1,000 women screened). For low-grade DCIS, detection rates were significantly lower in the first and second screening rounds versus the prevalence round (odds ratios, 0.45 and 0.57, respectively; both P < 0.001). For intermediate-grade DCIS, the relative reduction of detection rates was less pronounced (odds ratios, 0.79 [P = 0.006] and 0.76 [P = 0.003], respectively). For high-grade DCIS, the detection rate remained at the high level found in prevalence screening (odds ratios, 0.89 [P = 0.143] and 0.97 [P = 0.7], respectively).

"Grade-related changes of DCIS detection are suggestive of distinct dynamics of lesion progression," the authors write.